


Well Worn

by Thealmostrhetoricalquestion



Category: Shadowhunters (TV)
Genre: Alternate Universe - Human, Bagels, Blind Date, First Dates, First Meetings, Flirting, Getting Together, Getting to Know Each Other, M/M
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-06-12
Updated: 2019-06-12
Packaged: 2020-05-01 18:19:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,787
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/19183189
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion/pseuds/Thealmostrhetoricalquestion
Summary: A trail of scattered envelopes and a custom menu order. A specific patch of graffiti in a dark and empty park. One padlock, fastened shut on a night when everything unlocked for two men.The love story that shook Brooklyn to its core was quiet and hard to find. But itwasthere, if you only knew where to look, and it began with a blind date.





	Well Worn

**Author's Note:**

> I’ll add tags the further in I get, but no major warnings will apply, and the rating won’t go any higher. I really hope you like this one, it feels important and sweet and hopeful to me!

_An Overpriced Salad Bar, At A Perfectly Respectable Time to Eat Lunch_

“A blind date,” Magnus repeated, putting down his napkin slowly. “Precisely why do you think I need a blind date?”

Catarina didn't even blink, twirling her fork like an accusing baton. “I think that list is longer than the list of reasons why you wouldn’t need one.” 

“Oh, that’s pure exaggeration. I haven’t been that bad!” 

“You said it yourself—your most intimate moment in months was when the mailman handed you a parcel, and your hands brushed. It wasn’t even a very exciting parcel.”

It had been a steam mop, which Magnus maintained _could_ be exciting, depending on who you were. It was also entirely irrelevant, in his opinion, but Catarina didn’t seem very interested in his opinion. 

“You need to go outside and be with people again,” she said, prodding at a bit of wilted spinach. It looked much the way Magnus felt. 

“Do you not count as people?” Magnus gestured at the restaurant urgently, prompting sideways glances from the next table. “Is this not the outside world? Either way, I don't think a blind date is going to fix anything.”

“Raphael is in charge of delivering you to the first part of the date. If you’re late, he’ll skewer you.”

“You entrusted Raphael with romantic endeavours?” Magnus demanded, aghast. Then he shook his head, wishing desperately for six minutes ago, when he knew nothing of the horrors awaiting him. “The first part? How many dates have you planned for me, exactly?”

“Just one,” Catarina said, stabbing a garnished green bean with relish. “Dig in, or you’re going to be late. It takes you five hours to change and we’ve only got four, so we’ll have to skip dessert.”

There was no dessert in a salad bar. Magnus scooped up his napkin and flung it at her bright grin.

* * *

_Four and A Bit Hours Later, Hurtling Down An Unsuspecting Street Full of Potential Victims_

Raphael scowled at him, adjusting the wing-mirror a tad aggressively. He was dressed far more sharply than Magnus, in a crisp black suit, despite the fact that his evening plans consisted of several very thick, descriptive period novels and no blind dates to speak of.

“You could have put in a little more effort,” Raphael said, making a precise left-turn mere seconds before the light could turn red. The stomachs of all those in a three-mile radius reeled in sympathy. Magnus clung desperately to the door handle and ignored the blatant aroma of disappointment wafting from the driver’s seat. 

“This jacket cost three hundred dollars,” Magnus said, through gritted teeth. “Do try not to mow anyone down before we’re even five minutes away from my house, won’t you? I don't want it traced back to me.”

Raphael scoffed, flicking the indicator on. “You’re a disaster. This is a textbook performance, and if you’d just take your damn exam, you wouldn’t have to suffer through my awful—”

“Pensioner!”

“—driving,” Raphael finished, slowing with worryingly clear reluctance. As they waited for the elderly gentleman to hobble to safety, Raphael sighed deeply and said, “Listen, I know you, Bane. Maybe you dug out your fancy jacket and put on a bit of glitz, but this isn’t anything like you would have looked a few months ago.”

“My heart hadn’t been trampled on a few months ago,” Magnus snapped. “I don't need a blind date. It isn’t going to heal whatever you think is broken, and it’s likely going to be awkward and uncomfortable for everyone involved.” 

A stiff silence followed while Raphael checked his mirrors. 

The truth was, Magnus had been in one too many relationships recently where he’d opened his heart and subsequently suffered for it. He didn’t know why, but his love life seemed to follow a pattern. He started off careful, cautious. He found someone with a spark, someone that lit him up with heat and excitement, and he threw himself foolishly into the whole thing. Romance, roses, rings, the whole shebang. And without fail, every single time, it went wrong. It slunk towards the drain. There were arguments, missed dates, sharp words, and the relationship crumbled. 

He had come to the conclusion, after the last one, that it was him that was the problem. He was too much for people. Too eager, too foolish, too open. It had been a long, slow few months of miserable muttering and self-recrimination, and yes, he’d formed an unhealthy attachment to the mailman’s hands, but he didn't think that was an excuse for everybody to get themselves in a twist. 

“Forgive me, sweetheart,” Magnus said, expelling a rough sigh. “I know you’re only worried.”

“Extremely, but that’s nothing new.”

Magnus loosened his grip on the door handle for long enough to flip Raphael off, and then clutched his lifeline again.

* * *

_The Whole Bagel, One Hour To Closing, Three Minutes Late To The Date_

There were three figures hovering near The Whole Bagel when Raphael dropped him off. He handed Magnus his cell phone—confiscated previously for reasons unknown—and fixed him with a stern look that was utterly unfathomable before rattling off down the road, leaving a cloud of dust in his wake.

“How comforting,” Magnus said to himself. He glanced at his phone and found a note open: _Find tall dark and handsome at the bagel store. Do not scare him off. He has the next set of instructions._

Snorting, he pocketed the phone. Never before had he had such a direct, bossy beginning to a date. Trust Raphael to make a casual, romantic first meeting into something that required a manual and further references. 

“Tall, dark and handsome,” Magnus muttered under his breath, scanning the three figures curiously. One dark-haired man was tapping away at a BlackBerry phone, but he was rather short and uninterested in the fairly empty street. A ginger girl was consuming a bagel in a slow, steady fashion, not unlike a dedicated cobra, and the other man was loitering on the doorstep near her, an envelope clutched in his fist. 

BlackBerry harrumphed and stormed away at a presumably upsetting scheduling mix-up; Magnus had no idea what people did on BlackBerry phones, having never owned something so outdated and ugly, but he assumed it was tedious and laden with adult responsibility. 

“And then there were two,” Magnus said, perhaps too loudly, drawing the attention of the other two figures. The one with the envelope blinked at him, standing almost to attention. 

“That’s him,” said the ginger girl, swallowing the last of her bagel. “I recognise him from Izzy’s picture.” 

She smiled beautifically up at the man with the envelope and brushed off her hands, picking up the messenger bag between her feet. A sketchbook poked out of the top. 

“I really don't—” said the guy, but the girl threw him a wave and took off down the sidewalk before he could finish. Magnus watched her go, slightly bewildered. When he turned back, Envelope was staring uncertainly at him. 

Magnus felt a flash of insecurity, but he hastily smothered it. So what if this man looked vaguely angelic in his comfortable clothes and heavy boots? So what if he had cheekbones that statues would have envied? So what if he smiled really nicely—good Lord, this was beginning to feel like a slow descent and the ride hadn’t even begun. 

“Not usually how I go about meeting new people, I’ll admit,” Magnus said, putting on his best smile and stepping closer to The Whole Bagel. There was an awning, but luckily there didn't seem to be rain in the air. 

“Me neither,” the guy said. “But I don’t really meet people all that often. I feel like I should check that you’re the right person.” He cast a glance after the ginger girl. “I don’t trust her judgement when she’s full of cream cheese.” 

Magnus smothered a smile, still a little bemused. 

“You are here for the blind date, right?” 

“Definitely. I was told to look for tall, dark and handsome,” Magnus said, with a slow, appreciative once-over. “You fit the bill so far.” 

“Alec,” said the guy, smiling slightly in relief. “Tall, dark and handsome is a bit of a mouthful.”

Magnus winked. “I’ve never minded a mouthful.”

Alec smiled quite nicely when he was flustered, Magnus discovered quickly. He lost track of his words and then steeled himself with an endearing amount of serious concentration, but there was a goofy little smile on his face the whole time. 

Forget slow descent: this was a swift free fall, and Magnus was happy to feel the wind in his hair. 

“I didn’t get your name,” Alec said, once he’d recovered, lifting the envelope. “I didn’t actually plan any of this, and they told me to look for, uh…” 

“Yes?”

There was a lot of shuffling on Alec’s part, plus a grimace or two. It didn’t bode well, but it was fun to watch. 

Magnus quirked an eyebrow. “You don’t get my real name until you reveal what those backstabbers nicknamed me.” 

It took a moment before Alec admitted, with a pained, deep sigh, precisely what Magnus’s backstabbing friends had come up with.

“Stressed, Well-Dressed, and Physically Blessed.” 

Magnus mentally calculated the route to Catarina’s house, and whether he could make it there in time to catch Raphael in the ensuing blaze too. 

“That,” Magnus said, with great dignity, “is not the worst thing I have ever been called. But I think we’ll both be more comfortable if you call me Magnus.” 

Alec grinned at him. “Magnus it is. Do you want to do the honours?” 

He held out the envelope. Magnus took it gladly, feeling thin paper beneath his fingers. He caught Alec eyeing his purple nails with wide eyes and smirked politely, using one to slice the envelope open. The notepaper he withdrew was clearly ripped from a sketchpad. 

“Without discussing your preferences, order something nice for each other at The Whole Bagel,” Magnus read aloud. “Alec is allergic to shellfish, so don’t poison him, but other than that, go wild.” 

Lowering the envelope, they stared at each other before Magnus laughed. 

“Well I know Raphael didn’t write this one,” he said, grinning at the thought. “He wouldn’t have told me your allergies, and he wouldn’t be caught dead using the phrase go wild.” 

“Think it might have been Clary,” Alec said, tapping the paper. He was very close, Magnus realised, having stepped closer to the door when Magnus finished reading. From here, he could see dark eyelashes, and a flash of a black mark on his neck. It surprised him how much he wanted to see more. 

“Was that the red head?” Magnus asked. Alec held the door open for him as they stride into the warmth of The Whole Bagel, and Magnus firmly denied that it sent tingles through him. He really did need to get out of the house more. 

“Yeah, she’s my sisters friend. I made fun of her taste in food once, and she yelled at me for half an hour about veganism.” Alec grimaced up at the chalk menu above the counter; there was an awful lot of avocado. “I think this must be payback.” 

Magnus did not, as a rule, have much experience with bagels. Which was a shame, since they opened up an entire avenue of innuendo and puns. He also didn’t have much experience with guessing the eating habits of men he’d barely met. The two gaps in knowledge put together was bound to be a disaster, but he was determined, for some unearthly reason, not to screw this up. Just to prove to Raphael and Catarina that there was no need for worry, of course. 

“That’s one Wholey Cheese, and one French Brie and Pear, to go!” The man dinged the bell even though it was just them in the shop, and Magnus jerked out of his perusal of Alex’s eyebrows in time to take the napkin passed his way. There was a giant, sesame seed bagel inside, smelling strongly of balsamic and Brie. 

“I don’t know if I should be offended by this or not,” Alec said, peering down at the Wholey Cheese Bagel in his hands. Swiss was running down the side. Magnus very nearly offered to lick it off, but snatched the collar of his desperate ass just in time. 

“No offence meant,” Magnus said airily, with a slight smirk. “You look like someone who appreciates a classic, that’s all, darling. And I wouldn’t want you to insult my taste in food. I don’t have any speeches on veganism prepared, I’m afraid.” 

“Trust me when I say that I’m really glad about that.” 

Magnus laughed, throwing his head back. Alec had a dry, fervent way of saying things that tickled him. It was rather refreshing: not the same as Raph and Cat’s blunt, sarcastic humour, but not too far off the mark either. 

“So tell me about this, then,” Magnus said, holding up his monstrosity of a bagel as they left the store, another envelope in hand and a few dollars lighter. Alec was chewing thoughtfully on his bagel, seemingly unable to find a flaw. Magnus probably shouldn’t feel as smug as he did, but he was smug, and there was no changing it. 

Alec swallowed, and, with his own smirk, said, “It was the flashiest thing on the menu. I thought you’d like it.” 

It was quite unfortunate that he was very right, because Magnus was sadly not within his rights to smear pear on his sad little shirt in retaliation. 

“It’s actually not bad,” Alec admitted a few minutes later. “I think we both did a good job.” 

“Oh, do you,” Magnus muttered, taking a savage bite. 

“Yeah,” Alec said, smirking in a way that made Magnus mutter further. “Do you want to open this? I don’t know if we’re supposed to walk and talk.” 

Magnus sighed. “So many rules, so little time. Go on, then. Your turn.” 

Alec hesitated. He’d eaten quite a lot of his bagel, and he could easily open the envelope should he choose too. But he hesitated, eyes flicking towards the road, and Magnus felt his heart sink. 

“Is everything alright? No hidden shellfish, were there?” 

“No, no shellfish.” Alec smiled gently. “I guess I—do you want to do this? This date?” 

Stepping aside for an oncoming bike messenger, Magnus blinked up at Alec in surprise. The question seemed to come out of nowhere. Suddenly, his bagel didn’t taste quite as good. 

“I’m only asking because you seemed like you didn’t want to be here when you got out of the car,” Alec explained quietly, before Magnus could answer. “And I didn’t want to make you drag this out if you were just being nice with the first envelope. We can stick with bagels for the whole date, if you like.” 

Slowly, Magnus’s heart put down the shovel and stopped digging a pit of self-pity. Alec was asking because he didn’t want Magnus to be stuck here. He didn’t want Magnus to have to fake his way through a long date. It was… sweet. 

“I haven’t,” Magnus began, before hesitating, glancing down at his bagel. “I haven’t been on a first date in a little while, and I can’t say I expected to stay long at this one.” 

There was no denying that Alec looked disappointed. He clutched their next envelope a little tighter, and nodded like that made sense. 

“Yeah, no. I get that.” 

“I only found out at eleven o’clock today, actually,” Magnus said, injecting a little more cheer into his voice. “My friends, I may have mentioned, are terrible people, and utterly ruined my lunch when they told me. But I have to say, I’ve liked this. As first dates go, this has been lovely so far. And I, for one, can’t wait to see how you’ll subtly insult me and my flashiness next.” 

He winked, heart pounding despite his casual facade, but Alec didn’t actually seem to be listening anymore. He had an expression of deep confusion in place. 

“You were eating _lunch_ at eleven in the morning?” 

Magnus blinked rapidly at him. “That’s what you gathered from that?” 

Alec shook himself then, spilling chutney on the ground. He grimaced and sidestepped the mess. Magnus tried hard not to find his frown adorable, but it was. 

“Right, no. I was listening to the rest, I just—lunch. Right. Anyway! I want to finish the date with you too.” 

Magnus felt his mouth twitch. “Next envelope?” 

Relieved, Alec nodded furiously, his Wholey Cheese dripping on his shoe this time. “Next envelope. And if it’s bad I’m going to use it as a napkin.”

**Author's Note:**

> There should be a weekly update hopefully! But if I miss one it’s because I am very small and suffer with terrible WiFi. Also laziness.


End file.
